Last updated: 1 October 2026
Practices employing overseas staff could face higher costs and tighter immigration rules under Reform UK, while the party has yet to publish a detailed plan for NHS dentistry.
Reform’s published UK-wide policies do not explain how it would replace the units of dental activity (UDA) system, fund NHS dental care or improve access in dental deserts. Its proposals on immigration, public spending and domestic workforce training could nevertheless have a direct effect on practices.
The issue remains politically relevant. An Electoral Calculus prediction updated on 30 September put Reform on 23.2% of the vote, with a central estimate of 95 seats. It gave Reform a 12% chance of forming a minority government and a 1% chance of winning an overall majority.
For dental professionals, the question is what Reform’s wider policies would mean for NHS dentistry, given the party has not yet set out a fully costed UK-wide dental policy.
What has Reform said about NHS dentistry?
Reform says the National Health Service (NHS) would remain free at the point of use and funded through general taxation under a Reform government.
Its published health policy says the party would redirect funding from what it calls ‘back office bloat’ into frontline services. It has not, however, explained whether this would include additional funding for NHS dentistry or how dental services would be prioritised within the wider NHS budget.
The party has not published proposals for:
- replacing or substantially changing the UDA contract in England
- setting a new national NHS dental funding settlement
- improving recruitment and retention in NHS dentistry
- expanding access in dental deserts
- increasing dental school places
- changing patient charges
- setting out a workforce plan for dentists, dental nurses, dental hygienists or dental therapists.
This leaves a significant gap between Reform’s broad NHS commitments and the decisions that would need to be made to stabilise NHS dental services.
For comparison, the Keir Starmer-led Labour government introduced changes to the NHS dental contract in April 2026. These included payments for urgent care, new pathways for patients with complex needs, greater use of prevention and funding for quality improvement.
However, the UDA system remains in place. The full guide to NHS dental contract reform explains what has changed and what remains unresolved.
What could Reform’s immigration policy mean for dental practices?
Immigration is likely to be the area with the clearest immediate effect on dental employers.
Reform says it would abolish indefinite leave to remain and replace it with five-year renewable visas. The party also proposes higher salary thresholds, mandatory English fluency and stricter character requirements.
Work visas would remain available for what Reform describes as critical national shortages, but the party says these would be subject to caps and requirements to train British workers.
Reform’s published policy says people with European Union settled status would not be covered by its proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain. It does, however, propose changes to benefit eligibility for foreign nationals.
The effect on dentistry would depend on how the policy was written and implemented. Dental practices rely on internationally qualified dentists and other overseas staff across the UK. Any reduction in the supply of overseas workers, or additional conditions attached to their visas, could make recruitment more difficult. Read our guide to Skilled Worker visas and dentistry.
The General Dental Council (GDC) reported that 53% of dentists joining the UK register in 2025 were internationally qualified, compared with 47% who qualified in the UK. This figure relates to new additions to the register, not the whole dental workforce.
That distinction matters. The data does not show that 53% of all dentists working in the UK qualified overseas. It does show how important internationally qualified professionals have become to the flow of new registrants.
A Reform government would therefore need to explain how tighter immigration rules would work alongside the time required to train more dentists in the UK.
Could practices pay more to employ overseas staff?
Robert Jenrick has proposed an Employers’ Migrant Labour Levy as part of Reform’s plans to put British workers first.
Under the proposal, employers’ National Insurance contributions for British workers would be reduced from 15% to 13.8%, while the 15% rate would remain for foreign workers. Jenrick has also suggested that employers could pay an additional levy for migrant workers.
Reform has indicated that the levy could be worth about £3,750 a year for an employee earning the National Living Wage. The party has not yet published the full design of the policy or confirmed how it would apply to different sectors, pay levels or visa categories.
For dental practices, the possible effect would depend on whether the levy applied to dentists, dental nurses and other staff in the same way, and whether exemptions were introduced for shortage occupations.
A practice employing overseas-qualified dentists could face higher employment costs if the levy applied to those workers. The cost could be particularly significant for NHS practices already operating on tight margins.
That is an implication of the proposal, rather than a published Reform policy specifically about dentistry.
What did Reform say at its Birmingham conference?
Reform’s annual conference took place in Birmingham from 3 to 5 September.
Suella Braverman said the party would ‘scrap the cap on homegrown British doctors’ and remove interest payments on student loans for British nurses.
Those announcements relate to the wider health workforce. They were not dental policies, and Reform did not set out specific proposals for dental school places, dental foundation training or the recruitment of dentists.
The conference did, however, reinforce the party’s emphasis on increasing domestic training and reducing reliance on overseas recruitment.
That could matter to dentistry in the longer term. Increasing the number of UK-trained dentists would take years, require additional university and training capacity, and would not immediately replace dentists who leave NHS practice or the UK workforce.
The same distinction applies to Reform’s wider public spending plans. Jenrick has proposed raising the personal income tax allowance from £12,570 to £15,000 and has outlined large reductions in public spending.
Those measures could affect household finances and public services, but the party has not explained how its proposed savings would affect NHS dentistry or whether any money would be redirected into dental services.
What has the Labour government said about dentistry?
Andy Burnham became prime minister in July 2026, but his government has not yet published a new dentistry-specific programme.
It inherited Labour’s existing commitments on NHS dentistry, including contract reform and measures linked to prevention, access and the dental workforce. James Frith was appointed minister with responsibility for dentistry in August.
The BDA has continued to argue that the April contract changes do not amount to the fundamental reform required.
In September, the BDA said only 1% of dentists expected to increase the amount of NHS work they provided following the latest contract changes, while 63% expected to reduce it. Only 10% believed the changes had improved NHS dentistry.
BDA chair Eddie Crouch said: ‘You will struggle to find a dentist in this country who thinks the answer to the crisis in NHS dentistry is more tweaks at the margins.’
At the Labour Party Conference, the only mention of dentistry came from Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper, who referred to the NHS delivering 3.5 million more dental appointments a year. The BDA criticised the speech for giving little attention to the wider access crisis.
It said the proportion of adults in England who had seen an NHS dentist in the previous two years remained at 40%, while its analysis put unmet need at more than 13 million adults.
The BDA also said the former Starmer administration had failed to put its proposals for fundamental reform out to public consultation during the summer. The association said no new investment had been committed to rebuild NHS dentistry.
The dispute leaves the government under pressure to explain whether it intends to build on the April changes or revisit the contract more fundamentally.
The direction taken by the Burnham government will provide an important comparison with Reform’s approach. Labour has introduced contract changes but has not yet delivered the full reform process promised before the general election. Reform has criticised the wider NHS settlement but has not published a detailed dental alternative.
Does Reform have a dental policy in Wales?
Reform Wales has set out more specific dental proposals than the party’s UK-wide policy documents.
Its Welsh manifesto included plans for a new dental school in Bangor, serving north and west Wales, and proposals to replace the Welsh NHS dental contract.
It also referred to targeted recruitment incentives and proposed limiting planned NHS treatment to people who meet lawful residency requirements. Emergency care would remain available.
The Welsh proposals give an indication to the type of policies Reform candidates may support: greater domestic training, changes to NHS contracting and a closer link between access to publicly funded care and residency status.
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